Between New York and Albany. 227 



but this deficiency is made up by a vaft 

 quantity of oyflers, lobfters, crabs, feveral 

 kinds of fifh, and numbers of water fowl, 

 all which are there far more abundant 

 than on the northern mores of the Ifland. 

 Therefore the Indians formerly chofe the 

 fouthern part to live in, becaufe they fub- 

 fifted on oyflers, and other productions 

 of the fea. When the tide is out, it is 

 very eafy to fill a whole cart with oyflers, 

 which have been driven on more by one 

 flood. The Ifland is Are wed with ovfter- 

 mells and other fhells, which the Indians 

 left there ; thefe {hells ferve now for good 

 manure for the fields. The fouthern part 

 of the Ifland is turned into meadows, and 

 the northern part into fields. • The winter 

 is more conftant on the northern part, and 

 the fnow in fpring lies longer there than on 

 the fouthern part. The people are very 

 fertile here, and commonly tall and ftrong. 

 "June the 10th. At noon we left New 

 York, and failed up the river Hudfon, in a 

 yacht bound for Albany. All this afternoon 

 we faw a whole fleet of little boats return- 

 ing from New York, whither they had 

 brought provifions and other goods for fale, 

 which on account of the exteniive com- 

 merce of this town, and the great number 

 of its inhabitants, go off very well. The 



P 2 river 



